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Beware of the Porn Trap
New Subscription Social Media Sites Promise Young Gay Men Wealth Through Sex BY LOU GHIRALDI | CONTRIBUTING WRITER
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s the Carolinas LGBTQ community celebrates 2022 Pride and attention is at its highest, it’s a good time to take a look at an issue that doesn’t get discussed enough and churns through young people at an ever increasing rate. Names have been changed to protect privacy and any other similarities are purely coincidental. In a world where technology has taken over many aspects of life, whether it’s through automation or downloads, change and modernization has come in many forms. And that also includes the world of gay pornography. Where the big corporate porn studios once reigned supreme, a new wave of homegrown porn has taken a sizable bite out of their profits. Nowhere is this more evident than on sites like Twitter and OnlyFans. The one thing that has not changed is the minefield of issues this sex trade and skin commerce has created. This story takes a look at two young men living in the new world of modern day gay porn and how they navigate what has come to be known as the porn trap. Mario, 25, works at a men’s spa offering personalized service. Angel, 20, is still finding his way looking for friends and acceptance. Both are from a booming Mexican
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tourist town, where foreigners are outnumbered only by the locals enjoying the gay nightlife and tourist attractions. Angel confuses rape with romance, as he rhapsodizes poetically about his co-stars. Looking to be popular, he allows himself to be abused by strange men nightly for money and fame. He has become a celebrity of sorts on Only Fans. Mario is a different story. Intelligent, highly perceptive and likely capable of doing great things with his life, he instead turns on his friends who try to help him find himself and get into a solid career. He has turned his back on a lucrative career of legitimate male modeling with a minimum annual earning of at least $200k, for short term star status. Instead of working toward a career that could potentially provide him a lifetime of security, he has devoted himself to street level porn and prostitution, even spending money to convert his bedroom into a production studio, complete with lights, cameras and all the works needed for his endeavor. Mario’s idea of friends are the same porn cronies who are exploiting him for their own gains and will toss him aside when he’s no longer needed. Angel openly pines for friendship and being liked. He even considers doing
May 27 - June 2, 2022
recreational drugs to gain dates and friends. Little does he realize that the friends he craves only acknowledge him as long as they can continue to violate him, and that includes Mario. The common thread of these sex workers remains the same: They’re individuals from broken families lacking in self esteem, without financial aspirations and a yearning desire to be accepted. And yes, the big time porn producers troll the sites looking for fresh meat to exploit Anonymous sex work can be a perilous career choice. in their newest flesh fests. (Photo Credit: Facebook) Dangling a carrot of fame and fortune in front of them, So what happens if one of these interproducers get the kids hooked net porn actors contracts HIV or an STD early and later dump them when they during production, or – worse yet – ends become too sick to work or a fresher up being murdered by the same strangpiece of meat is discovered. ers they’re engaging with? In many cases, It’s sad these young gay men don’t nothing at all. comprehend what’s actually happening and how they’re being used. Worse yet, Angel has become well off financially far too many are impacted by depressince doing his homegrown porn, traveling sion and don’t want to acknowledge the the world looking for hookups to film. He unpleasant reality. often brags about being recognized and Attempting to explain such a disparagpeople complimenting his ass. Mario, also ing situation to them is practically useless well off from various sexual endeavors, is – they’ll fight you tooth and nail. The level now looking for the big money, courtesy of brainwashing is high, as is the use of of more porn and prostitution and will do drugs, pills and alcohol – another byprodanything to get it. His recent work includes uct of the porn trap. a cameo in a big studio porn film that unSo what, you might ask, what is doubtedly promised big fame and fortune. OnlyFans’s role here? What is their culpaBoth young men enjoy fancy clothes, bility in the production of content? Last expensive restaurants and high end clubs, year they announced they would ban all though neither seems to understand adult content from their platform gowhen the bill comes due, it won’t be paid ing forward. Within days they reversed at a cash register. that decision upon realizing it was their The effects on friends and what family main source of revenue. Without it, the they have can be overwhelming. Imagine subscription-based social media platform how it must feel when you see someone would go belly up. you care about destroying themselves and As a result of that decision, do they you can’t get through to them. carry the weight of a moral or legal reThey don’t want to listen and they sponsibility, since they share in the monthdon’t even want to remain friends unless ly fees charged? Complaints to OnlyFans you agree to be one of their “yes men.” regarding improprieties, price gouging Sometimes you simply can’t save someone and scam artists fall on deaf ears. Twitter from themselves, especially when they’re will suspend egregious accounts but the trapped in such a destructive vortex. perpetrators often work around it by changing one character in their name and Over the course of several months, opening new accounts a few days later. research has been conducted and many pages and posts have been read, all in the hopes of getting a feel for this next generation porn phenomenon. It’s not about generalizing or chastising the performers or subscribers, it’s about saving the lives of possible victims. Like the porn industry of yesteryear, it serves a purpose, bringing wealth to some and victimization to others. Some prosper, but most do not. Far too often, they are the forgotten ones. If you or someone you know is in need of help or looking for resources, SWOP USA offers many of these services. Sex Workers Outreach Project-USA is a national social justice network dedicated to the fundamental human rights of people involved in the sex trade and their communities, focusing on ending violence and stigma through education and advocacy. www.swopusa.org : :
